Board of Audit and Inspection: “Moon authorities reduces nationwide debt ratio forecast from 153% to 81% – distorted”

by times news cr

2024-06-05 16:06:24

After the 2020 Ministry of Technique and Finance common report back to the President
Blue Sends Doc “Potential to Trigger Social Controversy”
Hong Nam-ki instructed, “Make it double digits.”
Working employees share “Press launch self-destruction” textual content message

The Board of Audit and Inspection introduced on the 4th that the Moon Jae-in administration distorted the projected nationwide debt ratio for 2060 by lowering it by 72 proportion factors when saying the long-term fiscal outlook for 2020. The federal government deliberately used an incorrect calculation technique to decrease the nationwide debt forecast, reducing the nationwide debt to gross home product (GDP) ratio in 2060 from 153% to 81%.

In keeping with the Board of Audit and Inspection, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Technique and Finance, who was the top of the financial system on the time, even prompt a calculation technique to decrease the forecast by telling the Director of the Finance Innovation Bureau of the Ministry of Technique and Finance to “make the nationwide debt ratio in 2060 into double digits.” This ratio, which serves as a ‘nationwide debt warning mild’, has been distorted. Some Blue Home officers in the course of the Moon Jae-in administration are already on trial on fees of manipulating nationwide statistics equivalent to housing costs, employment, and earnings. Because the Board of Audit and Inspection can not self-discipline former Deputy Prime Minister Hong, who has already retired, it notified the Ministry of Technique and Finance to maintain personnel information for future public workplace appointments.

●Blue “It’s prone to solely trigger social controversy”

In keeping with a report launched by the Board of Audit and Inspection on the third, the working employees of the Ministry of Technique and Finance’s Monetary Innovation Bureau ready a daily report back to the Blue Home on July 7, 2020, stating, “The nationwide debt ratio will exceed 100% by 2060.” Former Deputy Prime Minister Hong reported this on the common report chaired by former President Moon the subsequent morning.

Nevertheless, on the day of the common report, the Blue Home despatched a doc summarizing the Blue Home’s opinions on every agenda merchandise to the Ministry of Technique and Finance. The doc is alleged to include the next: “It isn’t important, however could solely trigger social controversy,” and “In a scenario the place the inhabitants construction and socioeconomic paradigm continues to vary, we hope that we are going to handle it properly and take care to forestall pointless controversy from rising.”

Afterwards, the working-level employees of the Ministry of Technique and Finance reported to former Deputy Prime Minister Hong a draft challenge predicting the nationwide debt ratio in 2060 to be ‘minimal 129.6% and most 153%.’ Then, former Deputy Prime Minister Hong mentioned, “The persons are anxious,” and ordered “Make it double digits,” civil servants who have been current on the time instructed the Board of Audit and Inspection.

The Board of Audit and Inspection revealed that former Deputy Prime Minister Hong additionally instructed, “Assume that whole authorities expenditure will increase on the identical price because the financial progress price yearly.” The federal government’s whole expenditure is split into ‘obligatory expenditure’, which should be spent in response to regulation, such because the nationwide pension, and ‘discretionary expenditure’, the size of which the federal government adjusts in response to coverage implementation. Former Deputy Prime Minister Hong mentioned on the time that the debt ratio ought to be calculated on the premise that whole expenditures, which embody obligatory expenditures plus discretionary expenditures, would improve on the identical price because the financial progress price. For former Deputy Prime Minister Hong’s speculation to be right, his successor governments needed to cut back discretionary spending crucial for coverage implementation as obligatory spending elevated. Nevertheless, the Board of Audit and Inspection introduced that at the moment, it was anticipated that obligatory authorities spending would improve sharply, together with a rise in nationwide pension funds as a result of growing older inhabitants.

As well as, the Ministry of Technique and Finance’s fiscal innovation assessment officer objected, saying, “It isn’t cheap to create a piece the place discretionary spending decreases,” however the Board of Audit and Inspection defined that former Deputy Prime Minister Hong didn’t settle for it, saying, “The federal government can do it with will.”

In the long run, the Ministry of Technique and Finance working group modified the calculation technique and created a remaining plan that diminished the nationwide debt ratio in 2060 to 81.1%. The ultimate draft was introduced in September 2020 after a report back to the Blue Home and delivered to the Nationwide Meeting.

●Working employees, “I don’t wish to put out a press launch with my title on it”

The Board of Audit and Inspection decided that the Ministry of Technique and Finance knew that the calculation technique was incorrect. Earlier than the announcement of the forecast in September 2020, the Ministry of Technique and Finance working employees mentioned, “We don’t wish to problem a press launch. The Board of Audit and Inspection additionally confirmed that they exchanged messages saying, “I really feel ashamed.”

This audit additionally revealed that the Ministry of Technique and Finance abused exemption measures by accepting 63 out of 64 requests for preliminary feasibility research exemption from every ministry between 2014 and 2022 on the grounds that it was a nationwide coverage promotion challenge. The Board of Audit and Inspection identified that the quantity exempted from pre-tax funds elevated considerably from 2.7 trillion received in 2016 to 17.6 trillion received in 2017.

Nationwide debt ratio
Ratio of nationwide debt to gross home product (GDP). The nationwide debt ratio exceeded 30% in 2011, then reached the 40% vary in 2020, 9 years later, and reached a report excessive of fifty.4% final 12 months. Evaluation reveals that whereas financial progress is slowing, debt is rising and the ratio is rising.


Reporter Ko Do-ye [email protected]
Sejong = Reporter Kim Do-hyung [email protected]

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2024-06-05 16:06:24

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